Parallels today announced the release of Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac, the latest version of virtualization software for Mac users. According to the company, this version of the software includes the following new and improved features:

- Speak, don't type – Use the new Mountain Lion Dictation tool across both Windows and Mac environments.

- Open in Internet Explorer – When a website doesn't render well within Safari, launch it in Internet Explorer with a click of a button.

- Improved Parallels Desktop 8 performance - up to 30 percent faster for input/output (I/O) operations, 30 percent faster for games and up to 25 percent faster for virtual machine operations such as boot, suspend, shutdown and resume, when compared to Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac.

Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is priced at $79.99. The company also offers a student edition of the software for $39.99. Upgrades from Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac or later are priced at $49.99. But anyone who purchased Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac after July 25th is eligible for a free upgrade.